NBA partners with Stats LLC for tracking technology

NBA expands partnership with Stats LLC for tracking technology

POSTED: Sep 5, 2013 2:21 PM ETUPDATED: Sep 5, 2013 3:55 PM ET

Official release

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NEW YORK and NORTHBROOK, IIl. — The NBA and STATS LLC on Thursday announced they have expanded their partnership to install STATS' SportVU Player Tracking technology in every NBA arena beginning with the 2013-14 season. The multiyear agreement will make the NBA the first major U.S. professional sports league to quantify and analyze every movement of live game action throughout the entire season.

As the Official Player Tracking Partner of the NBA, STATS' SportVU -- a system of six cameras and STATS' proprietary software -- will be used by all 30 NBA teams during games to calibrate and measure the movements of all players and the ball on the court. The groundbreaking system will provide a continuous stream of innovative statistics based around speed, distance, player separation, and ball possession for detailed and targeted analysis of players and teams.

The NBA Game Time app, NBA.com and NBA TV will use SportVU player tracking data, enhancing the league's current statistical offerings and providing fans with the most comprehensive breakdown of every game.

"We are a league driven by data, and our expanded partnership with STATS provides our teams and fans with access to uncover groundbreaking statistics," said Steve Hellmuth, NBA Executive Vice President of Operations and Technology. "In this new era of statistical information, SportVU will be an invaluable resource for basketball executives and our passionate fans."

"STATS is proud to partner with the NBA to provide a whole new perspective on the sport through state-of-the art player tracking data for every game. With SportVU, the new vernacular of the NBA will be speed profiles, offensive play types, defensive matchups and court coverage maps," said STATS CEO Gary Walrath. "We look forward to growing with the NBA and expanding the use of SportVU."

The NBA's use of SportVU enhances a long-standing partnership between the NBA and STATS. STATS has been the league's Official Data Distribution Partner since 2006, disseminating complete NBA, WNBA and NBA Development League statistical information to broadcast, print and online outlets around the world.

About the NBA

The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women's National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League. The league has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents. NBA rosters currently feature 85 international players from 36 countries and territories. NBA Digital's assets include NBA TV, which is available in more than 61 million U.S. homes, and NBA.com, which averages more than 42 million page views per day, more than half of which originate from outside of North America. The NBA is the No. 1 professional sports league on social media, with more than 445 million likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league and its teams and players have donated more than $220 million to charity, completed more than 2.5 million hours of hands-on community service, and created more than 810 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play.

About STATS LLC

STATS is the world's leading sports technology, data and content company. The company passionately abides by a mission to revolutionize the way sports contests are viewed, understood, played and enjoyed. STATS' calling card consists of real-time scores, historical sports information, Associated Press editorial content, a turn-key fantasy sports operation and SportVU player tracking technology. Today, STATS' worldwide client network of media companies, broadcasters, brands, professional sports leagues and teams utilize a broad spectrum of content, games, dynamic in-game broadcast presentations and virtual images, multimedia enhancements and game analysis and tactical coaching tools. STATS is owned jointly by the Associated Press and 21st Century Fox, with corporate offices across the globe. For a complete tour of STATS' sports content portfolio and solutions, visit www.stats.com.